This invention relates to V-belts.
Among the many problems which arise in the design of V-belts is the constant need to compromise between maximum wear and a high degree of flexibility. Where the pulleys are relatively small in diameter or where a high degree of flexibility is important, belts having teeth or cogs are often preferred to conventional V-belts. Cogged belts have been known for many years, as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,611,829, 2,631,463 and 3,464,875.
On the other hand, laminated belts generally provide better wear resistance than the cogged belts. These laminated belts are partially or wholly built up of a series of laminations or layers of fabric and/or rubber having a plurality of discrete, aligned stiffening fibers distributed therethrough. Belts of this general type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,416,383 and 3,478,613. U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,773 discloses a laminated belt having a plurality of layers of fabric defining its compression section, wherein the layers of fabric are of different thicknesses. Although this construction provides good wear resistance and a high transverse strength, it lacks the desired degree of flexibility.
There is a need for a V-belt, particularly for agricultural and heavy industrial drive systems, which combines the features of the laminated belt and the cogged belt, i.e., which provides a high degree of flexibility with good wear resistance. Laminated cog belts are known in the art. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,210,073 and 2,281,148 disclose wrapped, molded laminated belts having transverse grooves in the bottom of the belt. These grooves are relatively shallow, generally having a depth less than the thickness of the fabric wrapper, thus contributing relatively little additional flexibility to the belt. U.S. Pat. 3,464,875 discloses a raw-edge cogged V-belt having from 1 to 6 layers of fabric defining the outermost, i.e., cogged, portion of the compression section. These multiple fabric layers improve the wear and life characteristics of this belt by reducing the tendency for cracks to form at the root of the cogs. These multiple fabric layers add relatively little transverse rigidity to the belt at or near the load-carrying section. Further, as the number and/or thickness of the fabric plies is increased, the ability to form cogs decreases.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel laminated, cogged belt.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for producing a novel laminated, cogged belt.
Other objects, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed desclosure and the appended claims.